“Ottoman’s Creed” or “A Little Detective Work”

The latest trailer on the teaser Facebook page for the upcoming Assassin’s Creed game is short and sweet. Before we talk about anything else, watch the trailer below. It’s fairly short, only 10 seconds or so.

There are three interesting pieces of information in this video.

1. The Hagia Sofia

The first is the Hagia Sofia. Construction on the building first started in 562 A.D., it’s original purpose was to be an Eastern Orthodox Cathedral, which it remained (with a little break in between to be a Roman Catholic Church for about 57 years in-between) till 1453 A.D. It was converted to an Imperial Mosque by the Ottomans in 1493, and it served this function until 1931. It now stands as a museum.

2. The Numbers – 24061459

At first I though this would be a reference to the future of some sort, the year 2406, and something to do with Constantinople/Istanbul in 1459. But then I thought what it the numbers were actually 24.06.1459? June 24, 1459.

A quick search on Google revealed that to be the birthday of our favorite protagonist Ezio Audotore di Firenze.

Ezio was thus born a good six years after the Hagia Sofia was converted into an Imperial Mosque. This also implies that the Assassins had time to explore and uncover the secrets of the Templars buried inside Hagia Sofia for the near millennium it was a church. All of this transpired immediately before the birth of the chosen Assassin who would eventually speak to Minerva.

3. The Tughra

The Tughra is an calligraphic Ottoman seal, one made for each Ottoman ruler. Each king had one. Each seal had identical features called the

Straight from Wikipedia: “The tughra has a characteristic form, two loops on the left side, three vertical lines in the middle, stacked writing on the bottom and two extensions to the right. Each of these elements has a specific meaning, and together they make up the form that is easily recognizable as a tughra.”

Sere (name): Name of the Sultan, written on the bottom.

Beyze (egg): Two left loops, the outer larger loop signifying the Mediterranean and the inner, smaller loop signifying the Black Sea.

Tuğ: (flagstaff): Three vertical lines up top.

Zülfe: The S-shaped lines crossing the tuğ.

Hançer: Lines on the right-side, signifying power.

This is where things get interesting. In 1459, the Ottoman ruler was Mehmud the second. The following is a list of Ottoman rulers from the 15th through the early 17th centuries. Mehmud II is marked in red, as the Hagia Sofia was converted to an Imperial Mosque in his reign, as well as the birth and upbringing of Ezio. Ezio would be 22 years old when Mehmud II’s reign ended.

Interregnum

Mehmud I – 1413 – 1421

Murad II – 1421 – 1444

Mehmud II – 1444–1446

Murad II – 1446 – 1451

Mehmud II – 1451 – 1481

Bayezid II – 1481 – 1512

Selim I – 1512 – 1520

Suleiman I – 1520 – 1566

Selim II – 1566-1574

Murad III – 1574 – 1595

Mehmud III – 1595 – 1603

Like all other Ottoman rulers, his has a Tughra, but his Tughra looks nothing like the one depicted above. I have pasted it below, take a look:

A little more investigation revealed a Tughra that was closer in shape and structure to the one depicted in the video above. This Tughra belonged to Suleiman the Magnificient, the fifth successor after Mehmood II, who ruled between 1520 and 1566. His Tughra is below:

See the similarity?

Conclusion

The next installment of the Assassin’s Creed will feature Ezio in some capacity.

Some of the game’s timeline will occur between 1520 and 1566.

Suleiman the Magnificent will have something to do with it.

The Assassins will have uncovered something of significance from Hagia Sofia, perhaps another Piece of Eden or something even more powerful. But the Hagia Sofia plays into it somehow.